Comic-Con kicks off in San Diego

SAN DIEGO — The zombies, superheroes, space aliens, pirates and time travelers taking over the streets of downtown San Diego can only mean one thing: Comic-Con is here.

The 44th annual pop-culture extravaganza kicked off Wednesday with preview night, which grants early access to the show floor to attendees with four-day passes.

Lines snaked around outside and inside the San Diego Convention Center with guests queuing to collect freebies and have first crack at such limited-edition collectibles as a 2-foot-tall “Transformers” action figure.

Some fans began camping out on the grass near the convention center to be among the first in line for Thursday’s presentations for TV shows such as “Dexter” and films like “Divergent.”